Special Education

Special education and related
services are provided to eligible students with disabilities. Special
education at University Academy is specifically designed instruction
that enables students to make continuous progress in school. University
Academy’s philosophy is reflected in the practice of responsibly
including students in educational and social activities to the maximum
extent appropriate, based on their individual learning needs.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

Reauthorized
by Congress and signed into law by President Bush in December, 2004,
the federal Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA-04) guides all
special education practices in the United States. IDEA-04 mandates that
each student identified as eligible for special education services
receive a “free and appropriate public education” in the “least
restrictive environment” and be afforded “due process rights” as
delineated in the legislation.

Individual Education Program (IEP)

The
Individual Education Program, or IEP, describes the special education
services a student will receive from University Academy. Written by an
IEP team, including the parents and the student, if appropriate, the IEP
includes information designed to communicate to the school and the
parents a plan for delivering services and measuring student growth
toward IEP goals.

The IEP is reviewed with parents at least annually. IEP progress reports are sent home quarterly.

Special Education Eligibility

A
variety of tools and strategies are used to gather information to
determine whether or not a student is eligible for special education.
The evaluation process establishes whether or not a child has an
exceptionality, and has a need for special education and related
services.

The eligibility team, comprised of parents and
educators, is required to review data from a variety of sources, such as
general education interventions, early childhood screenings, record
reviews, interviews, observations and/or tests.

Students must meet two criteria to be enrolled in special education:

• Does the student have a disability?
• Does the student need specially designed instruction to benefit from the general education curriculum?

About Extended School Year

Students
with a disability-based IEP may be eligible for Extended School Year
(ESY) services through the Special Education Department. The decision
for extending services into the summer or other lengthy school breaks is
made by the IEP team.

The purpose of Extended School Year is to
maintain skills that the student has developed during the school year.
The team must consider data that indicates that without extended
services, the student would lose skills that could not be regained
within a reasonable time period upon returning to school.

The
service each student receives is individualized and is based on IEP
goals that have been attained during the regular school calendar.
Related services such as speech and occupational therapy may be
continued through Extended School Year based on the decision of the IEP
team. Transportation to and from the student’s home will be provided.
Accommodations that are provided throughout the school year will be
continued during ESY transportation.

About Section 504

The
Rehabilitation Act was passed in 1973 to prohibit entities receiving
federal funds from allowing disability discrimination. Subpart C of
Section 504 of that act requires school district to make programs and
activities accessible to and usable by all individuals with
disabilities. It states: “No otherwise qualified individual with a
disability shall solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded
from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to
discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal
financial assistance.”

Since University Academy receives federal
money, we are required to provide eligible disabled students with equal
access (both physical and academic) to services, programs, and
activities. Section 504 is a civil rights statute and not a special
education statute. University Academy aims to ensure that the
educational needs of each student with a disability are met and that
students have access to the necessary evaluation, placement and
procedural safeguard requirements. The responsibility for insuring
Section 504 compliance rests with each Academy’s principal or
principal’s designee.